He of the horned helmet, of the bared chest, of the red-white-and-blue face paint -- the most spectacular trespasser of the 1/6 insurrection attempt -- has been diagnosed with transient schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety.
I don't know about you, but when I read that Chansley had "transient schizophrenia," I thought, "Doesn't everybody?" It's a line from the 1970s sitcom Taxi, where Reverend Jim takes his driving test:
(The good part starts at 2:38.)
Chansley's lawyer says further that the eccentric activist has experienced some delusions, such as believing he was related to Jesus and the Buddha -- but of course! -- and said he was an "unarmed, harmless, peaceful" person with "a pre-existing mental vulnerability of significance."
Even so, Chansley has NOT been found incompetent to stand trial. Guess the lawyer's still working on that.
Okay, so he's mentally fragile. Does that mean he should get the plea deal he's now seeking from the court?
So far, the courts have handed down a probation-only sentence (a grandma from farm country who convinced the court she didn't really know what was going on) and an eight-month-plus-probation term for a man who paraded through the House chamber with a giant Trump flag.
You'd think they were ALL schizophrenic -- transiently, natch. In fact, neither of those two seem to have injured anyone or damaged the Capitol building.
And Chansley didn't gore anybody with those horns. He did, however, successfully spread the kooky beliefs of QAnon beforehand, becoming a local celebrity for it. He's not without influence. Nobody could really expect him to go home, like that Grandma on probation, and stick to feeding chickens on the back 40.
If you were the judge, what would you do?
_______________
What kind of a sentence do you think would balance public safety, compassion, and justice?
Can Chansley be trusted to live outside an institution without some kind of supervision or oversight?
Is Chansley a clear and present danger to the nation? Was he ever?
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/the-qanon-shaman-is-in-plea-negotiations-after-being-diagnosed-with-mental-illnesses-including-schizophrenia-and-bipolar-disorder-report-says/ar-AAMy9Dm?ocid=ob-fb-enus-1541512262291
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